China's Military Modernization: Assessing China's Weapons and Strategic Reach in the Early 21st Century
Paperback
Series: Asia@War
Chinese HistoryGeneral World HistoryMilitary Strategy
Publisher Price: $29.95
ISBN13: 9781806720323
Publisher: Helion & Company
Published: Nov 26 2026
Pages: 96
Language: English
China's Military Modernization explores the rapid technological transformation of the Chinese armed forces and its strategic implications for the Asia-Pacific region. At the heart of Beijing's ascent lies a systematic and well-resourced effort to develop next-generation military capabilities across all domains, enabling China to assert its regional ambitions and directly challenge the United States and its allies.
Like Russia, China has shaped its defence posture around a robust Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) doctrine--creating a layered projectile-based network designed to deter or disrupt foreign intervention. With the deployment of advanced supersonic and hypersonic missile systems, many of which remain beyond the effective interception capabilities of Western missile defence platforms such as AEGIS and THAAD, China's A2/AD matrix has become increasingly formidable. Yet, where Russia has focused largely on territorial defence and strategic deterrence, China has gone further--pursuing force projection and full-spectrum capability development.
This book details the extensive modernisation efforts within the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and Navy (PLAN), including the introduction of fifth-generation stealth fighters such as the J-20 and J-35, development of a sixth-generation J-36, anti-stealth radar systems, and the fielding of advanced anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons. Alongside these developments, the integration of autonomous stealth drones and electronic warfare platforms reveals an ambition not merely to catch up with the United States, but to compete as a peer military power.
Nowhere is this ambition more stark than in the Taiwan Strait. China's force structure, operational doctrine, and strategic posture increasingly point toward preparations for a potential invasion of Taiwan--raising the stakes for regional security and drawing in major powers including the US, Japan, and Australia. This book invites defence scholars, analysts, and military professionals to consider how the West might respond: through improved alliance cohesion, enhanced regional basing, and revitalised research and development strategies to counter emerging Chinese threats.
As with all volumes in Helion's @ War series, China's Military Modernization is supported by rare photographs, detailed colour artworks, organisational charts, and technical analysis. It offers an essential, accessible assessment of one of the most pressing military transformations of the 21st century and the strategic challenges it poses to global stability.
Also from
Boufesis, Alexandros
Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector 2011: NATO and the Air War Over Libya, 2011-2020
Boufesis, Alexandros
Paperback
Also in
Chinese History
Hostage on the Yangtze: Britain, China, and the Amethyst Crisis of 1949
Murfett, Malcolm H.
Hardcover
China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power
Kristof, Nicholas D.
Wudunn, Sheryl
Paperback
The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth
Niarchos, Nicolas
Hardcover
The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet
Liu, Yi-Ling
Hardcover
The Next China Is Still China: An Insider's Playbook for Winning in the New Era
Leung, Nick
Ngai, Joe
Hardcover
When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail
Dolin, Eric Jay
Paperback
The Shortest History of China: From the Ancient Dynasties to a Modern Superpower - A Retelling for Our Times
Jaivin, Linda
Paperback
China Whisperers: The Voices That Have Shaped America's Views of Its Chief Geopolitical Rival
Kaplan, Robert D.
Hardcover
The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China
Kaufman, Jonathan
Paperback
A Brief History of China: Dynasty, Revolution and Transformation: From the Middle Kingdom to the People's Republic
Clements, Jonathan
Paperback
Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on China's Past, Present, and Future
Bell, Daniel a.
Hardcover
The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of XI Zhongxun, Father of XI Jinping
Torigian, Joseph
Hardcover
Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
Platt, Stephen R.
Paperback
Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62
Dikötter, Frank
Paperback
From Frontier Policy to Foreign Policy: The Question of India and the Transformation of Geopolitics in Qing China
Mosca, Matthew
Paperback
Beyond the Pass: Economy, Ethnicity, and Empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864
Millward, James A.
Paperback
Collected Writings of Chairman Mao: Volume 3 - On Policy, Practice and Contradiction
Tse-Tung, Mao
Zedong, Mao
Paperback
The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream
Wood, Michael
Paperback
Kingdom of Characters (Pulitzer Prize Finalist): The Language Revolution That Made China Modern
Tsu, Jing
Paperback
Breaking the Chains: Gender, Context, and the Politics of Writing in Modern China
Limin, Dong
Paperback
Red Star Over the Pacific, Third Edition: China's Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy
Yoshihara, Toshi
Holmes, James R.
Paperback
The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of XI Zhongxun, Father of XI Jinping
Torigian, Joseph
Paperback
The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between
Khan, Sulmaan Wasif
Hardcover
The Man Awakened from Dreams: One Man's Life in a North China Village, 1857-1942
Harrison, Henrietta
Paperback
21 Claves Para Entender China En El Siglo XXI / 21 Keys to Understanding China in the 21st Century
Díaz Marro, Adrián
Paperback
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution
Zia, Helen
Paperback
A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail: Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592-1598 Volume 20
Swope, Kenneth M.
Paperback
The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-Defense, Health, and Enlightenment
Kit, Wong Kiew
Paperback
Why Taiwan Matters: A Short History of a Small Island That Will Dictate Our Future
Brown, Kerry
Hardcover
This World in a Teacup: Credit, Taste, and Power in the U.S.-China Tea Trade, 1784-1911
Du, Dan
Hardcover
The Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China
Beckwith, Christopher I.
Paperback
Foundations of Chinese Civilization: The Yellow Emperor to the Han Dynasty (2697 BCE - 220 CE)
Liu, Jing
Paperback
Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power
French, Howard W.
Paperback
我所认识的顾准(吴敬琏作序)
徐方
Paperback
The Art of War for Language Learners: A Bilingual Chinese-English Modern Edition of China's Greatest Classic: Sun Tzu's The Art of War (孙ड
Ling, Ling
Tzu, Sun
Robson, Huw
Paperback
Storming the Heavens - Peasants and Revolution in China, 1925-1949 - Viewed through a Marxist Lens
Clegg, Jenny
Paperback
For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History
Rose, Sarah
Paperback
激流者: 陆海空抗战老兵口述历史合集
赖恩典
Paperback
Pinay Guerrilleras: The Unsung Heroics of Filipina Resistance Fighters During the Pacific War
Salinas, Stacey
Paperback
Silk Roads, Steppe Roads: History Unearthed from the Tombs of Medieval China
Skaff, Jonathan Karam
Hardcover
A Geek in China: Discovering the Land of Bullet Trains, Alibaba and Dim Sum
Christensen, Matthew B.
Paperback
The Fox Spirit, the Stone Maiden, and Other Transgender Histories from Late Imperial China
Sommer, Matthew H.
Paperback
The Transpacific Chinese Diaspora: Migration Networks from China to Canada and Beyond, 1788-1898
Chen, Zhongping
Hardcover
